Skull Trail's Tech Blog - Covers Video Games, Technology and Programming

Collada tutorial

2010-03-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

A good friend of mine wrote a really useful Collada tutorial recently so I wanted to mention it here. If you want to implement Skeletal Animations using Collada, check out this tutorial at the following link,

Collada Tutorial

Need for Speed Shift Team Racing Pack

2009-11-21T04:25:00.001-08:00

A free DLC is coming out for Need for Speed Shift on the 1st of December for the Xbox 360 and PC and December 3rd on the Playstation 3.

The Team Racing Pack downloadable content for Need for Speed SHIFT includes five new cars: 1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV, 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 1967 Shelby GT500, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T and 1969 Dodge Challenger R/T, as well as the new Team Racing mode.

Grab your friends, create a team and take on the world in Team Racing. Using a combination of teamwork, skillful driving and the occasional slick maneuver to topple your opponents, you’ll be atop the podium in short order.

To go to the news announcement page, visit the link below.

Need for Speed Shift Team Racing Pack

AMD interviews DICE for use of DirectX11 in their next game

2009-11-19T04:11:00.001-08:00

AMD interviewed DICE and asked some interesting questions about next-gen hardware and how they plan to implement it in their soon to be released Battlefield Bad Company 2 video game. Here is an exerpt from the interview,

(2) Can you share any details of how you plan to use DirectCompute 11 to implement deferred shading? What does that mean in terms of how your games would look or perform? Can you think of other way you might use DirectCompute 11?
Our plan is to improve performance and at the same time be able to have many more dynamic light sources than we’ve been able to have previously — and by a wide margin even. This is possible as the culling & processing of large light sources can be done much more efficiently and directly in a compute shader compared to traditional deferred rendering techniques.

To red the full interview, head on to the following link,

AMD DICE Interview - 11 Days of DirectX 11

DiRT 2 PC System Requirements

2009-11-13T04:07:00.001-08:00

Here are the system requirements for the upcoming PC title, DiRT 2. The game was recently released on the consoles and received excellent reviews. The small delay for the PC version was due to the added DirectX 11 support which will be well worth the wait.

Recommended (Enhanced for DirectX 11)
OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Phenom II
Memory: 3GB
HD Space: 10GB
Video Card: ATi Radeon HD 5700 Series
Minimum:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Memory: 1GB (2Gb for Windows Vista)
HD Space: 10GB
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1500, NVIDIA GeForce 6800

Source

Please fill out this survey

2009-11-13T02:33:00.001-08:00

I am running a survey these days for my Master thesis and researching on blogs and what motivates people to write them and how do they generate revenue and so on. Even though, I am a blogger myself, it is very interesting for me to try and understand how other bloggers do it. If you want to help me with my thesis and you are a blogger, you could contribute to my research by going to the following link where I have the survey set up. Please note that the survey is completely anonymous.

Blog Survey

Your help would be greatly appreciated. =)

Microsoft says, "Xbox console ban is permanent"

2009-11-12T05:55:00.001-08:00

The recent banning of users who had modified their Xbox consoles to play pirated games may have been banned permanently from using their Xbox consoles and may have to buy a new console if they want to continue playing online. In an interview to the BBC, the firm said,
"Users of banned Xbox consoles can recover their profile to another, unmodified Xbox 360 console to resume their Live service"

"The banned console will be unable to connect to Xbox Live."
It was mentioned however that the banned consoles will still be able to work offline.

To read the full news story, head over to the link below.

Xbox console ban is 'permanent' - BBC News

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 breaks sales record

2009-11-11T13:52:00.001-08:00

It seems that COD MW2 has broken the sales record which was previously set by GTA IV. COD sold over 1.23 million units in its first day and it turned around profits of over 47 million British Pounds.

You can read more about it at the link below.

Modern Warfare 2 breaks UK record.

Microsoft cuts off thousands of gamers from Xbox Live

2009-11-11T07:49:00.001-08:00

I came across a news story on BBC's website today that thousands of gamers may have lost their connection to Xbox live because of using modified Xbox consoles. These consoles are usually modified in order to play pirated versions of games available for the Xbox.

To read the full news story, click on the link below,

Microsoft Disconnects Xbox gamers

Dragon Age: Origins

2009-11-10T08:15:00.001-08:00

Another game which got released recently and has been getting great reviews is Dragon Age: Origins. The game was released on all major platforms including the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Out of all the three versions, the PC version is supposed to have the best graphics while out of the consoles, the PS3 version seems to have better graphics. I own a 360 right now and I might purchase a new gaming PC in the near future so I might wanna hold out on this one until I have a good enough rig for it as I think the experience on a PC would be so much worthwhile for this game. Actiontrip.com reviewed this game today and you can check out the full review from the link below.

Actiontrip.com Dragon Age: Origins Review

More Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Reviews

2009-11-10T07:29:00.001-08:00

The game is finally out and the two websites I trust the most when it comes to gaming reviews have given their final verdict on the blockbuster. Both Gametrailers.com and IGN.com have given the game an astounding 9.5 out of 10. The thing that surprised me about the reviews was that IGN reported the single player campaign to be around 5 hours in length while the Gametrailers review mentioned that the campaign was around 7 hours long. I guess I will find out for myself how long the campaign is once I buy the game. They both praised the significant amount of improvements to graphics done for the game as well as the multiplayer enhancements. The added perks have been quite welcome and the new Spec-Ops mode also seems to be a very welcome addition to the game.

However, both the reviews mentioned that the way the story unfolds in the game could have been shown in a better view instead of static mission briefing scenes which appear while the single player maps are loading. At the same time, they said that the number of cinematic scenes have been increased much further as compared to the previous Modern Warfare game. Also the locational variety is much better than the previous game as the player is taken from locations like Afghanistan all the way to Rio de Janeiro and beyond.

You can check out both the reviews from the links below.

IGN.com COD 4 Review (Xbox 360)
Gametrailers COD 4 Review

Two new multiplayer modes for Battlefield Bad Company

2009-11-09T08:46:00.001-08:00

Two new modes for the highly anticipated upcoming FPS, Battlefield Bad Company 2 have been revealed in an interview they gave to the folks at IncGamers.com. They have not given too much details on it except the fact that the squads will play out more like they did in the awesome Battlefield 1943 game (launched a few months earlier this year as a DLC). The players will no longer be forced into a squad like Battlefield Bad Company 1 but will play more similarly to the way squads worked in BF1943. You can read the details from the following link,

IncGamers - Two new multiplayer modes for Bad Company 2

You can also check out the awesome footage from the African harbour map from the game below. The sound effects are some of the best I have heard in a video game and the graphics effects and lighting effects are simply superb. I can't wait to get my hands on this when it gets released early next year for all major platforms.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Africa Harbour MP Gameplay

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Reviewed by GamingBolt

2009-11-09T05:33:00.001-08:00

One of the first reviews to hit the internet about the next FPS phenomenon is out. GamingBold.com reviewed the game calling it an
"Action packed story that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Multiplayer and Spec-Ops will leave you with endless hours of fun while still keeping the core gameplay of COD 4 but adding tons of more features".

On the downside, they reported that the campaign of the game was fairly short. Also note that the review of the game was done for the Xbox 360 version of the game. I cannot wait to get my hands on this puppy myself as I have been looking forward to it for quite a long time. These days I am having a lot of fun with Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising. Of course it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps I may decide to write about it pretty soon.

You can read the full review of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 from the following link...

GamingBolt: Call of Dtury Modern Warfare 2 Review

The next Tomb Raider game’s leaked concept art and images

2009-07-13T11:44:00.001-07:00

This recently got leaked out on the internet. Have a look.

Prototype System Requirements

2009-06-04T00:39:00.001-07:00

Operating System: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) and DirectX® 9.0c or (Windows Vista® with Service Pack 2)
Video Card: 256 MB 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c with Shader Model 3 support*
Processor: Pentium(R) Intel Core® 2 Duo 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ or better
RAM: 1 GB of RAM for Windows ® XP / 2 GB Windows ® Vista systems
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB of uncompressed hard disk space (Plus 500MB for swap file.)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM

Peripheral:
100% Windows(R) XP/Vista - compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers
100% Windows(R) XP/Vista - compatible 4X DVD-ROM drive or better (600 K/sec sustained transfer rate) and drivers

*Supported Chipsets for Windows(R) XP and Vista All NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7800 256 MB and better chipsets All ATI® Radeon™ X1800 256 MB and better chipsets

Street Fighter 4 PC System Requirements

2009-05-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Minimum System Requirements:

OS: Windows XP
CPU: Intel Pentium4 2.0GHz or higher
RAM: 1GB or higher
HDD: 10GB of free space or more
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce6600 series, ATI Radeon(TM) X1600 or higher or higher, VRAM :256MB or higher
Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible
Input Devices: Mouse, Keyboard

Maximum System Requirements:

OS: Windows Vista
CPU: Intel Core2Duo 2.0GHz or higher
RAM: 2GB or higher
HDD: 10GB of free space or more
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce8600 series or higher, ATI Radeon(TM) X 1900 or higher, VRAM :512MB or higher
Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible
Input Devices: Gamepad :Xbox360 Controller for Windows

Headphones or external speakers not working in Ubuntu

2009-04-18T03:30:00.001-07:00

I ran into a nagging issue yesterday when I was trying to use my external speakers with my Ubuntu 8.10 Operating System. The audio for any application just wouldn't play from the external speakers as it would only use the internal laptop speakers to do that. This morning, I tried using my headphones and I faced the same issue. The audio doesn't work for the headphones, it only rendered the audio from the laptop speakers. So I researched a little on the Ubuntu forums and found the solution. So here it is and I hope it helps out anyone else facing a similar problem.

1. Open up the Terminal in Ubuntu under Applications>Accessories>Terminal.

2. Type in the command gnome-volume-control.

3. Click on the Switches tab and check the headphones option.

4. In case you don't see the Headphones option, just click on the preferences button and look for the headphones checkbox, check it and now it should appear in the switches tab.

Now your external speakers or headphones connected with the headphone Jack should start working. =)

Pirate Bay Convicted

2009-04-17T02:25:00.001-07:00

In an unexpected turn of events, Pirate Bay were found guilty by a Swedish court today. I was really hoping that they would win, but things had to go in another direction I guess.

The four men connected with The Pirate Bay were found guilty of being accessories to copyright infringement by a Swedish court on Friday, delivering a symbolic victory in the entertainment industry’s efforts to put a stop to the sharing of copyrighted material on the internet.

Source: thelocal

The Last Remnant PC System Requirements

2009-03-22T08:55:00.001-07:00

Here are the requirements for The Last Remnant for the PC.

The Last Remnant
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO E4400/AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ (2 GHz)
Memory: 1.5 GB
Hard Drive: 15 GB Free
Video Memory: 256 MB (nVidia GeForce 8600GT)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO E4600/AMD Athlon64 X2 4600+ (2.4 GHz)
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 15 GB Free
Video Memory: 512 MB (nVidia GeForce 8800GT)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 10
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Wheelman demo impressions

2009-03-22T07:08:00.001-07:00

After following a lot of hype about this game, I decided to download the demo for my Xbox 360 and give the game a spin. The first thing I noticed were that the graphics weren't that impressive, I know that the gameplay usually matters more for any videogame but the graphics left a lot to be desired.

On the other hand, the physics in the game were quite good along with the stellar sound effects. The controls were quite responsive as well. The voice work was a little cheesy though but Vin Diesel performed his lines convincingly. I wasn't that impressed with the voice work done by the Spanish lady however. The game seemed quite action packed. You can melee attack your enemy vehicles, you can also shoot at other cars and bikes chasing you along with some supermoves which you perform by pressing the buttons on the directional pad. The mission in the demo gave you the task of losing cops who try to take you down while you drive the bank robber babe to safety. After a lot of scripted action sequences and a lot of destruction I finally managed to reach the end of the mission. The demo also gives you the opportunity to try 2 side missions but limits you to trying them out only 3 times while promising unlimited retries in the full version of the game. One of the included modes was about stealing cars and not damaging them since damaging them before delivery reduced the bonus you receive while the other mode was about a simple checkpoint race with other racers. The only twist in the latter side mission was that you can hit and shoot your opponents to take them out. Overall, the game was quite enjoyable but I wonder if the final game provides you with some sort of freedom to choose which missions you want to play because it still felt pretty scripted. The game also featured on foot action but in the demo you only go on foot to steal a few vehicles and there were no specific on foot missions available. You can download the game's demo too if you have an Xbox Live account. Give it a spin and tell me what you think!

Why PC’s are Losing the War on Gaming

2009-03-11T14:24:00.001-07:00

There was once a time when PC games were the ultimate in computer graphics technology. Games like Doom, Wolfenstein, and Myst offered gamers with a visual playing field the likes of which were never seen in a game. While PC gaming pioneered many of the game engines and online game play that we use today, there has been a noticeable decline in the popularity of PC games over the past few years.

With the emergence of modern console game systems like Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, gamers are turning away from their keyboards and mice and heading to their living rooms to play console games. This trend can be attributed to many different factors.

For starters, most homes now-a-days have large plasma screen TV’s. Coupled with a powerful game console, HD gaming on a plasma screen can be hard to resist. While many homes have big screen TV’s, most casual PC gamers have only a 17 to 21 inch computer screen. A modern TV stand can also house several different game consoles and games in a single storage unit, making switching between consoles and games a breeze. This set up is also more conducive to multi-player games, where groups of people have the luxury of sitting in comfy chairs and couches, rather than huddle in front of a computer screen.

The fact that online gaming is no longer exclusive to PC gamers has also hurt the computers chances. Any of the big 3 game systems offer a plethora of online gaming options and most have internet browsers and online chat capabilities. Sitting on a couch and playing online with friends from around the globe on a big screen TV seems favorable to most over hunching over a keyboard on a PC.

Affordability is possibly the biggest factor in favor of the console gamer. Console systems are relatively inexpensive when compared to PCs, and prices seem to drop every few months or so. While many PC games require minimum software and hardware requirements, console games are almost always compatible with their system. This makes the need to upgrade your system virtually nonexistent. PC games like Crysis for example are visually mind blowing, but most casual gamers cannot afford to upgrade their PC’s so that their machine can handle the games demanding hardware requirements.

In the simplest terms it seems that advancements in gaming consoles have made the PC gaming nearly obsolete. Most consoles today can perform all the tasks that a home computer can offer in terms of gaming at a fraction of the cost.

Fear 2 PC System Requirements

2009-01-12T09:06:00.001-08:00

Minimum system requirements:

CPU: P4 2.8GHz (3.2GHz Vista)/Athlon 64 3000+ (3200+ Vista)

GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 256MB (SM 2.0b). NVidia 6800 or ATI X700.

Memory: 1GB (1.5GB Vista)

HDD: 12GB

OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1

DirectX: 9.0c

Sound: DX9.0c compliant

Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)

Internet: Broadband

Recommended system requirements:

CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processor family/Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (required for MP host)

GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 512MB (SM 3.0). NVidia 8600 GTS or ATI HD 2900 XT.

Memory: 1.5GB

HDD: 12GB

OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1

DirectX: 9.0c

Sound: DX9.0c compliant

Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)

Internet: Broadband (768kbit/sec upstream required to host 16 players)

New Mafia 2 Trailer

2008-12-15T16:38:00.001-08:00

The new Mafia 2 trailer looks extremely promising and I have high hopes for this game!

Awesome Drake's Fortune Screenshots

2008-12-15T16:34:00.001-08:00

This bunch of screenies from the upcoming Drake's Fortune really push the PS3 to its limit.

Below is the concept art for the above in-game screenshot.

By the looks of it they came really darn close! Great work by Naughty Dog Studios! Here are some more screens.

Songbird 1 (Final) Linux Installer

2008-12-03T03:21:00.001-08:00

Due to high request, here is the .deb file for the Songbird 1.0.0 (Final) release.All you have to do is download the .deb file, install it, and the Songbird icon will be placed in your Applications menu under Sound & Video. Alternatively you can open a run application dialog and type in songbird which will also start the program.

read more | digg story

50 High-Res Apple, MacOS and iPhone Wallpapers

2008-12-03T03:20:00.001-08:00

Here’s collection of some of the finest and most beautifully designed Apple Mac & iPhone wallpapers for your desktop.

read more | digg story